Household Goods Descriptive Inventory
Record every item and its condition at origin — the record that decides loss and damage claims.
If it is not on the inventory, you cannot prove it.
The descriptive inventory lists each item in the shipment with its condition noted at pickup, using standard exception codes. It is the reference point for verifying delivery and adjudicating claims.
If it isn't on the inventory, it's hard to prove. A thorough inventory is the mover's single best protection against damage claims.
Everything an auditor expects to see.
Each Household Goods Descriptive Inventory is personalized with your business name, USDOT / MC numbers and terms — and delivered as a print-ready PDF that drops straight into SmartMoving, MoveitPro and Moverbase.
- Numbered item listing tied to inventory tags
- Standard condition and exception codes
- Room and packing notes
- Shipper and driver acknowledgment
- Reference to the governing Bill of Lading
The inventory is the mover's memory of the job.
The inventory opens the loop that the delivery slip closes — together they are the evidence chain for every claim.
When a dispute or a DOT review comes, the company with clean, consistent, compliant paperwork is the one that walks away clean. That's the whole point of MoverDocx.
Building an inventory that survives a claim
The descriptive inventory is the single best protection a mover has against damage claims. Each item, numbered and tagged, with its condition noted at pickup using standard exception codes — that is what lets you show a scratch was there before your crew arrived, not caused during the move.
The discipline is in the codes. A consistent set of condition and exception codes, applied the same way by every crew, turns the inventory into evidence rather than a rough list. Vague or blank condition notes do the opposite.
Customers rarely argue with a thorough inventory. They argue with the gaps in a thin one. A complete inventory at origin is what makes the delivery slip and any claim resolve cleanly.
Household Goods Descriptive Inventory — common questions
Why is the inventory so important?+
Because claims are won and lost on it. A numbered inventory with condition codes at pickup lets you prove the state of every item before the move.
What are exception codes?+
Standard shorthand for condition — scratched, dented, worn, and so on — applied consistently so the inventory reads the same to everyone, including an adjuster.
Who signs the inventory?+
The shipper acknowledges it at origin and it is referenced again at delivery. That shared record is what makes it defensible.
This document is built to align with current federal requirements. You can verify the governing rules directly:
- FMCSA — Protect Your Move — federal claims-handling guidance
- 49 CFR Part 375 (eCFR) — the inventory underpins the claims process governed by Part 375
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